


War Machine

by frotesque



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-27
Updated: 2015-09-27
Packaged: 2018-04-23 17:11:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4884988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frotesque/pseuds/frotesque
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“War machine” had truly hurt because, though the war was not the reason for her existence, she couldn’t help but remember how good she was at it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	War Machine

“War machine” had truly hurt because, though the war was not the reason for her existence, she couldn’t help but remember how _good_ she was at it.

She was a particularly powerful fusion, something she was aware of in the first moments of her presence. It made sense, seeing as her counterparts, while small, were quite impressive in their elemental abilities and proficiency at fighting. It was long before they disclosed to her that they had both been front line warriors in Homeworld’s never – ending conquest for resources, famous both individually and together.

It scared her, when they revealed it to her, but just as soon as her apprehension came, it was gone. She knew, without any sort of doubt, that she was a being of love. The result of a beautiful relationship. It didn’t take long for her to forget her dangerous potential, especially with Rose being so supportive of her existence and allowing her to travel alongside her as a trusted friend.

When Rose finally came to her with plans of rebellion - she had seen the possibility of it, and as time moved on and Rose grew more frustrated with her “sisters”, it made more and more frequent appearances in her visions – she had already decided that she was prepared to do whatever it took to help her win.

By that point in her life, Ruby and Sapphire were more or less dormant, happy to allow her to live her life while they enjoyed an eternity together. For the first time in hundreds of years, she roused them. Told them she needed to win a war.

For a tense moment, she felt their emotions flare in different directions, and feared they might defuse, as was always a risk when she woke them in the hopes of getting some advice. She was relieved when they quickly settled, and simply offered to her what they knew.

They trusted her, and she appreciated them for it. They fell silent again, and she went to work.

Rose appointed her a general within moments of her revealing that she now had all the knowledge of war that Ruby and Sapphire once possessed.

At first, that was enough. But eventually, as their numbers dwindled, she knew she would need more than good strategy and a mean left hook. She taught the troops fusion, and that certainly helped. It came with the not entirely unexpected consequence of them looking at her in an unflattering new light.

They now associated fusion with battle, and, if she hadn’t already, she began to look more and more like a vessel rather than a person.

Fusion was effective, but after a while even that was beginning to seem like it wouldn’t be enough. So she introduced the concept of cross – training. Being able to use weapons that weren’t their own in the hopes of gaining a slight edge. Pearl was the inspiration for that particular plan, seeing as her proficiency with both a sword and spear had kept her alive thus far.

The requirement was only to learn one other weapon, but Garnet decided she would learn them all. She was strong, and smart, and there was less danger for front line casualties if she _was_ the front line. By the end of the war, she would simply pick up whatever weapon was nearby and wield it as though it was her own.

It was at this point she wasn’t even a gem to the opposing army any more. She had become a concept. A nightmare. A death sentence. Gems saw her coming and retreated.

She crushed them anyway.

Garnet had always known how powerful she could be, and she had been itching for centuries to put it to good use. It was easy, when looking at the numbers and the statistics and the futures where they won to justify what she was doing, what she had become.

And then the war was over, and all she was left with was the realization that she almost missed it.

She was gripped with horror when she admitted this to herself. Rose found her gasping and panicking and crying, and she had hugged her and listened while she confessed her bloodlust. Then Rose reminded her who she was. Reminded her that she was made of love. And for the first time in her entire existence, she asked Ruby and Sapphire to separate for a little while.

They obliged her of course. They would do anything for her, truly. They spent a couple weeks like that, and enjoyed being together physically while working through their own leftover mental issues that had come from the war. When they re-fused, Garnet stood taller and smiled easier than she had in centuries.

She’d long since mentally recovered from the whole situation, and vowed to handle the upcoming conflict with Homeworld in a way that wouldn’t leave Steven looking at her like she was some kind of monster.

She couldn’t have Peridot saying these things around Steven. He was an innocent, if not slightly naive little boy, but he was no fool. He’d catch on to the reoccurring theme of her interactions with the Homeworld gems, and he would ever so sweetly ask for some type of explanation. Then she would have to lie, or worse, tell him the truth, and he would never look at her the same…

Steven, precious, sweet Steven, would never, ever know what she did. Who she was. No one is going to ruin what she has.

And she’ll crush anyone who tries.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know what else to say about this good night everybody.


End file.
